Creating and evaluating digital elevation model‐based stream‐power map as a stream assessment tool

As urban development increases, a need is emerging to understand and predict river behaviour in order to focus rehabilitation efforts and protect the natural river system while preserving urban infrastructure. Stream assessment methods are reviewed to demonstrate the need for a physically based and objective method that is also accessible in terms of time, data requirements and expertise. The case of Highland Creek near Toronto, Canada, is used to demonstrate a new type of initial stream assessment method that is based on the concept of stream power and performed entirely in a geographic information system using information from a digital elevation model (DEM). The results from this analysis are tested against existing information for Highland Creek. This includes a hydraulic model (Hydraulic Engineering Center's ‘River Analysis System’), field‐measured slopes, air photos and the geomorphic effects of an extreme flood. In addition, the results are presented in map form to demonstrate the effectiveness of visualizing the stream‐power distribution over the entire basin and also the usefulness of overlaying stream power onto other available information. The slopes extracted from the DEM are found to be statistically similar to those from a one‐dimensional hydraulic model and field‐measured slopes. Individual peaks in slope as well as locations of stream‐power maxima and minima are found to correlate to actual channel features as seen in air photos. The extreme flood event of August 2005 caused a dramatic change in channel form at the exact location of maximum energy predicted by the DEM‐based stream‐power analysis. The case of Highland Creek illustrates how this approach yields a useful outcome for understanding stream dynamics and stability as part of a stream assessment process.